My Telepath
by 10Pints
Summary: Eric checks out a young telepath at the local mental health facility.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters all belong to Charlaine Harris.

1991

EPOV

My man at Louisiana Mental Health Services gave me a call, said the facility might have a telepath in residence. Interesting, I had never met one. I kept someone on my payroll at all the mental health facilities in my area. Humans with amazing talents sometimes showed up there because regular humans tend to fear differences and label them as "illnesses". Better than demons, but still humans are spectacularly narrow minded. This particular telepath was only a child – 5 or 6 I am told – not old enough to be useful. I can at least check her out. If she has talent, perhaps it can be nurtured until she is old enough for me to attach her to my retinue.

I levitated and peered inside of the tiny room she was assigned to – a prison cell with a little institutional green paint as far as I could tell. The child was huddled on the bed shaking, crying. Probably completely useless. Then she looked up at me. She came to the window and pressed a palm against the glass. Her blue eyes held my gaze completely.

"Why can't I hear you?" she asked seemingly awestruck. "And why do you glow?"

My "inside man" had temporarily disabled the alarm on the window and I motioned for her to open it. She hesitated, then opened it just a crack, clearly cringing for the sound of the alarm. When none sounded, she opened the window all the way.

"How did you do that? I opened it yesterday morning and alarms rang, people came running from everywhere. They thought I was going to jump or something. I just wanted to feel the sun on my skin. (sigh)."

"If I reveal all of my secrets too soon," I answered with a wink, "you may loose interest."

She laughed and reached out to touch my hand.

"I still can't hear you. I can almost not hear anyone." She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"Come with me?" I asked taking her hand in mine.

Eyes round as saucers, she nodded and climbed out of the window into my arms. I flew off toward a large wooded area carrying a small human girl.


	2. Chapter 2

She clung to me as we flew. Such a small, warm body snuggled into mine. Had I held a child in this manner since my human life? I took her to the middle of the forest, far from all other humans. I put her down and sat down on a rock nearby.

"Are you an angel?" she asked.

I laughed – I could not help myself. "No child, I am certainly no angel. You may call me Eric."

"Nice to meet you Eric, my name is Sookie Stackhouse," replied the tiny human girl in her night gown. She held out her hand like a southern lady at a garden party. Surprising myself, I shook it. As a matter of course, vampires do not shake hands. To survive we must blend in, and cold hands aren't at all helpful. But, she knew I could fly. She took the levitating outside of her window, flying, leaving with a stranger in stride. A cold hand probably wasn't going to push her over the edge. Which reminded me…..

"Sookie."

"Yes, sir?" Someone had trained her very well.

"You do realize flying off with a stranger in the middle of the night isn't a very good idea."

She started trembling. Great, Northman. I tried again.

"I assure you that you are safe with me, " I paused and looked her in the eye, "but in the future you need to be more careful."

She looked down at her bare feet. (Would she be cold? Should I have brought a blanket? )

"Almost anything would be better than being in the 'sylum. All those minds screaming at me! You can't imagine what some of those people are thinking. You can't imagine what some of them have lived through." I had seen mental health care improve dramatically in my long existence – expelling demons, cages, lobotomies. And yet there was so much still wrong with the current system. "What do you want with me? Are you going to ask a bunch of questions, poke and prod at me?"

"Just questions, no poking or prodding," I answered with a grin. She didn't grin back. Apparently she had been "tested" quite a bit already. "For each question you answer, I will answer a question about myself." Glamour later. Of course, that piqued her attention.

"Only if I get to go first."

"Ask away, Miss Stackhouse."

"Did you braid your hair yourself or did someone do it for you?" I roared with laughter. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed children. I had enjoyed my own very much.

"If you are going to laugh at me, you might as well leave,"said the small night gowned girl with her hands on her hips. She stomped her foot for good measure.

I put on my serious face and looked her in the eye. My eye might have twitched. "I braided my own hair. When I fly I often pull it back. I learned this particular method on the steppes of Asia. Do you like it?" I turned around and preened, just a bit.

"Yes, very much. Although usually only girls braid their hair. Next question…."

I cleared my throat. "What about my question?"

"You asked if I liked your hair and I said yes," she replied in complete earnestness. Outsmarted by a small girl. A wiser vampire might have flown off at that moment. I frowned and nodded for her to continue with her question.

"Will you braid mine? " I smiled and motioned for her to turn around. I gently stroked her hair and began. "My momma hardly does my hair. When people touch me, their thoughts are just that much clearer. I don't like to be touched, especially by Momma. She is afraid of me. She thinks that maybe I am evil." She said it in such a matter of fact manner. I almost offered to take her home with me. "Sometimes my gran brushes my hair. I don't mind her touching me. Mostly she thinks about how much she loves me and what a special girl I am."

Our question/beauty shop session went on for some time. What I learned from Sookie was that she could hear peoples thoughts, though some people sounded louder than others. She didn't know how to stop their thoughts and she had a hard time telling the difference between what they were saying in their heads and what they were saying out loud. Most people were afraid of her and thought she was crazy. She was beginning to think she was crazy too. She thought much longer in the 'sylum and she really would be. I told her I was a vampire, that I drank blood, showed her my fangs, that I had children when I was human, what their names were, my favorite color… Her hair would have turned out nicer if I had a brush, but I was pretty satisfied. When I told her it was time to go back, she turned and ran as fast as her legs would carry her.


	3. Chapter 3

She didn't get very far. Within minutes I found her tangled in some briars, yelling and screaming and pulling desperately at her ensnared clothing.

"Shhhh, little one. Calm down and I will help you." If possible, she began to struggle more. "Look at me Sookie. Everything will be fine. Hold very still and I will free you."

"Everything will not be fine! You are taking me back to that terrible place so I can listen to crazy people's thoughts all day and night!" Tears were streaming down her face. Blood was oozing from various cuts on her hands, face, and feet. Somehow her hair had gotten caught as well. I tried again, turning her to face me. "Sookie, stand very still. You want to go back to your warm bed. I will untangle you and take you back. You will remember nothing of my visit."

She stared at me. "What are you doing? My mind feels all tickly." She couldn't be glamoured! Good thing I had answered so many of her questions. My first impulse was to end her. Then I looked down into those big, trusting blue eyes. Well, who would believe a little girl in a nut house telling tales about a vampire flying her off into the woods AND bringing her back (mostly) unharmed. I guess my secrets were pretty safe.

"I am trying to glamour you." Just in case I hadn't divulged enough information tonight. "Vampires use it to help them stay hidden from humans. Often we use it on people that we feed from." Big scared eyes – again.

"Are you going to bite me?" Sookie asked in a tiny voice, then wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"Not now," I answered nodding at her mucous sleeve. She smiled. "Although," I added sniffing in an exaggerated way, "you smell very yummy – minus the boogers." She giggled and I started untangling a very wiggly Sookie from the undergrowth.

"You should take me home with you."

"Sookie…."

"I won't be any trouble. When you sleep I can read or watch TV. I can cook my own food, bathe myself. I can clean your house for you. My Gran says I am a very good house cleaner. I can fold laundry. I can bring in the mail and the newpaper….."

"Sookie, I can't take you home with me."

"Please, please!" she pleaded, with big doe eyes. Seriously? A vampire sheriff reduced to goo by a pleading girl. I took her in my arms and she wrapped her arms around my neck and snuggled into my chest. I swear my undead heart almost started beating. Then she – for a lack of a better word – bawled. Tears, snot, heaving breaths… I shooshed and patted her the best I knew how. I don't deal very well with crying females.

Suddenly she stopped and looked into my eyes. "You,.. you could drink my blood," she suggested trembling.

I wiped the tears from her face and kissed the top of her head. "How about a deal?" She quirked an eyebrow. "I can't take you home with me, but I will make sure you don't have to stay in the 'sylum for more than a day or two."

She looked at me warily, then nodded. "Will you fancy my doctor into sending me home?" she asked.

"Fancy?" I laughed. "Do you by chance mean glamour? That is a very good plan, my little Sookie,"I said ruffling her hair. " Let me clean you up a bit, then I will take you back." I pricked my finger with my fang and traced it over the scratches on her hands, face, and feet. Did she run into every briar in the forest? I found a stream and used my handkerchief (yes, I know they have fallen out of style but a well prepared man should really always carry one) to clean off the dirt and any remaining blood. I hated to waste the blood –she did smell quite "yummy" but she had just about reached her weirdness quota for the evening.

I flew her back to the "sylum" and deposited her in her tiny, bare room.

"Will you read me a bedtime story?"she asked. I tucked her in and began reading a small, worn book about a zebra who was lost from the zoo and spent the night in a coal yard. Then everyone thought he was a donkey until it rained. "Do you think I might be a zebra?" Sookie asked drowsily.

"Yes, you just might be," I told her. "Or maybe a swan." I began to make my way to the window.

"Wait!" She looked like she was in pain. "When I touch you, the voices are almost gone. Will you stay until I fall asleep?" So the Sheriff of Area Five laid his 6'4 body in a 6' bed beside a very small telepathic girl who could not be glamoured (fancied!) and stayed until almost dawn.


	4. Chapter 4

When I rose the next night, I called my man (who would be getting a very large check) at Louisiana Mental Health Services to discover that Sookie's doctor took a smoke break at the rear of the building each evening around 9:00. That would suit my purposes just fine.

I arrived outside the facility just in time to see Dr. Meshuggah light up his little cancer stick. "Good evening Doctor. You have an important phone call to make." He looked into my eyes and nodded. The good doctor quickly put out his cigarette and led me to his office. He looked up the Stackhouse number and dialed. A woman answered on the first ring.

"Hello."

"Mrs. Michelle Stackhouse? This is Dr. Meshuggah from Louisiana Mental Health Services. I am sorry to call you so late this evening."

"Is something wrong? What has Sookie done now?" Shouldn't she have asked if Sookie was ok? My little plan was going to work out just fine.

"Sookie is not doing well here at LMHS. Being around all of the other children distresses her greatly. She really needs private care."

"Dr. Meshua, she has been with you less than a week. Are you sure? Can you change her medication? Private care sounds very expensive."

"Mrs. Stackhouse, I am very sure. We took her off of all of her medication – I am amazed she could function at all considering everything Dr. Madden had her on." Yes, I did read her medical file before meeting her. Her parents should be the ones seeing the good doctor. "I spoke with a colleague of mine earlier this evening, that is why I am calling you so late. He is very intrigued with her case and has offered to work with her pro bono. When you pick her up tomorrow, I will give you his information.

"Where is his office? Is it a long drive from Bon Temps?" Sookie's mother asked. I hoped this free treatment for her daughter didn't put her out too much.

"He makes house calls." I waited for her next objection and I wasn't disappointed.

"I can't pick her up tomorrow, Dr. Mesha. Jason's select football team is going to New Orleans this weekend. My husband and I are going along. We can pick her up Monday afternoon at the earliest." If she had been here in person I would have drained her.

"Mrs. Stackhouse, Sookie must be taken home no later than tomorrow evening. I insist upon it. Find someone else to pick her up if you are too selfish to do it personally!" Dr. Meshuggah yelled. I wondered if Dr. M yelled very much when he wasn't glamoured. Probably not. Anyone who wasn't a doormat would have a better job.

Sookie's mom yelled some about Dr. M raising his voice, continued to pronounce his name numerous incorrect ways, and finally agreed to try to find someone to pick Sookie up. Humans can be so exhausting! Dr. M and I sat staring at each other until the phone rang.

"Dr. Meshuggah? This is Adele Stackhouse, Sookie's Gran. How are you this evening?"

"I am doing well, Mrs. Stackhouse. I would like to send Miss Sookie home to you. When can you pick her up?"

"If I leave now, I can be on your doorstep by 11:00." I couldn't wait to meet this lady!

They exchanged a few pleasantries, then hung up. Dr. Meshuggah started working on Sookie's paperwork and I went to see the reason for all of this turmoil.

She was curled up on the bed like before. Sookie looked at me and grinned. She ran to the window and raised it.

"Are you taking me home with you now?"she asked.

"Better. Your Gran is coming to get you."

"Gran? Am I going to live with Gran?" She was almost jumping up and down.

"Would you like that, Sookie?"

"Oh yes, very much!" She started jumping up and down in earnest, then paused. " Where are my manners? Would you like to come in?" I hadn't planned on it, but I couldn't disappoint her, now could I? She took my hand and led me over to her tiny bed. Then she inspected my hair.

"A new braid tonight? I think I liked last night's better," she remarked.

"I was in a bit of a rush tonight, trying to bust you out and all."

"Oh, sorry." She looked down at her hands. "I guess that wasn't a very nice thing to say."

"I'll let it slide this time, " I said with a smirk. She smiled, such a beautiful smile.

"Will you braid my hair like last night? Can I ask you more questions? Let me get my brush."

"Do you need to pack anything ,Sookie?" I asked.

She pulled her brush out of a small pink bag. "I packed first thing this morning. I wanted to be ready when you came for me." I couldn't remember the last time someone placed such faith in me.

When Adele arrived I blended into the shadows. Sookie launched herself into her Gran's arms and there were tears all around. (Human tears, no vamp ones.) Adele admired Sookie's fancy braid and on their way to the car I caught Mrs. Stackhouse's attention for just a moment and used my "fancy" to have her insist that Sookie move in with her. I think she was going to anyway, but just in case. I winked at Sookie and took off. There was much to do before dawn.

**Note: I am overwhelmed by all the responses to this story. Thank you for reading and for all of your kind reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

Adele Stackhouse left a message for me the next morning thanking me for my interest in her granddaughter. (My answering service was instructed to answer that particular number with "Good morning, Northman Psychological. How may I help you?"). I returned her call after I rose and arranged to start Sookie's treatment Tuesday evening. She was such a gracious lady! She invited me to eat with them before starting my session. I begged off, citing a busy schedule. I could tell she was looking for a way to repay me for my pro bono work with Sookie. My estimation of Mrs. Adele Stackhouse just kept rising.

Mrs. Dawson, a local Were, agreed to tutor Sookie privately each morning while her children were in school. She was an imposing looking woman , nearly 6 foot tall with broad shoulders . (She worked as a body guard in the Were community from time to time.) Mrs. Dawson also taught second grade before she had children, was very kind, and discrete. She would teach Sookie all of her school subjects, I would work on her telepathy. There were other vamps in Louisiana more experienced with talent development – Bill Compton came to mind- but that would mean involving the Queen and I really wanted to keep Sookie all to myself. I promised myself I would give Sookie and I six months. If we didn't have any success, then I would look for outside help.

Upon rising Tuesday, I stood staring into my closet. What does a successful child psychologist in Northern Louisiana wear? Adele Stackhouse probably didn't really believe I was a psychologist, but I would at least try to look the part for tonight. I chose a light blue button down and gray dress pants and loafers. Pipe? No. I put a pair of wire framed glasses in my pocket. I pulled my hair back in a simple pony tail and headed for the garage.

Once again I frowned at my car. What I really wanted was a red corvette. Each year when a new model came out, I went to the dealer and test drove one. Then I drove home in my sensible, black Buick. Blending in, not drawing attention, was an important vampire skill and nothing says "look at me" like a red corvette, and yet…. My sedan does have a corvette motor, painted red. I told my mechanic that my wife wouldn't let me have a corvette and what she didn't know about my engine wasn't going to hurt her. We had a good "just us guys together" laugh about that. If a wife was my only problem, I would have a red corvette, a Harley… Charming women is one of the things that I do best. Tonight I needed to charm Mrs. Adele Stackhouse.

When I arrived at the farm house, Adele was sitting in the porch swing. She rose as I walked up the steps.

"Mr. Northman," she said nodding.

"Mrs. Stackhouse, what a pleasure to meet you." I had a briefcase in one hand and a few papers in the other, so no hand shaking.

"Sookie is finishing up her dinner. Would you like a piece of apple pie?"

"May I take a slice to go when I leave?"

"Certainly, Mr. Northman," Adele answered smiling sweetly. Southern women always try to feed you. Refusing graciously is the only way to handle them.

"Please call me Eric."

"Eric, then. Please call me Adele. Will you join me on the swing for a few minutes?" she asked. How could I refuse?

"What are your plans for Sookie?"

"This – I gave her a paper from my hand- is a letter to Sookie's school with my diagnosis of social anxiety and my recommendation that she be allowed to receive homebound instruction. I have made arrangements with Bernice Dawson to come weekday mornings to help Sookie with her lessons. I will work with her three nights a week. One of my long term goals is to get Sookie to a point where she will be comfortable returning to school."

"I know Bernice Dawson well. She was one of the best female athletes Bon Temps High School has ever had. Some thought she was headed to the Olympics, but Charles Dawson caught her eye and before you knew it she had three little boys. Bernice will be good for Sookie. But we both know that wasn't really what I was asking. What are your intentions for my Sookie?"

I knew she didn't really believe I was a psychologist. "I want to help Sookie learn to manage her gift. To lead a "normal" life, she needs to learn to shut out people's thoughts so she isn't constantly overwhelmed. "

"Do you really think that is possible?" Adele hardly dared to hope.

"I do."

She looked me right in the eye. "And then?"

"When she grows up, I hope she will come to work for me."

"What sort of work, Mr. Northman?" Yes, I noticed I was no longer Eric.

"I own several businesses in Shreveport. A telepath (there, I said it aloud) would be very useful screening potential employees, assessing productivity ,and so forth."

"Hmm. I guess we have some time before Sookie has to worry about "and so forth". You are offering your services and paying for Bernice's in the hope that at some point in the future Sookie will go to work for you?"

"Yes."

She eyed me warily. Adele had met up with a supe or two before.

"And if she can never control her gift well enough ?"

"Then at least she isn't locked away in LMHS being driven mad by all the other inmates' thoughts."

"We can certainly agree on that Eric, we can certainly agree on that." She would have patted my hand if I hadn't managed to keep it out of reach.

We rocked for a few minutes on the swing in silence.

"Gran, can I come out now?"Sookie asked, pressing her nose to the screen door.

"In a minute, child. Did you stack up the dishes like I asked you to?" Adele responded with a smile.

We heard Sookie run back to the kitchen.

"She has been so excited about your visit, Eric. She could hardly contain herself all day."

"I wondered if she would tell you we had met," I said cautiously.

"She told me all sorts of things," Adele responded looking at me meaningfully.

"And yet you are sitting next to me on the porch swing?"

"I didn't invite you in right away." I was really going to have to work to stay ahead of Adele Stackhouse. "I've met you now, and I can tell you care about my Sookie. Shall we go in and get started?"

I stood and held out my hand to help her up. No need to worry about cold hands now.

"I can see why blue is your favorite color," she remarked looking from my shirt to my eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. 1000 years of carefully guarded secrets divulged by one small girl. Great.


	6. Chapter 6

"Eric!" Sookie yelled and ran towards me as I walked into the farm house. I went down on one knee and caught her in a hug. (No vampires were watching, so I could indulge myself.)

"How are you this evening, my loose lipped little friend?"I asked. She looked a little puzzled. "I don't mind your Gran knowing about me, but if anyone else thought I was a vampire, that could be very dangerous." Mostly for them.

"Sorry," Sookie said looking down at her feet. "I was just so excited to hear you were coming over."

"No harm done, this time. I am glad to see you too." I noticed Adele looking at her meaningfully.

"Oh. Thank you Eric for fixing it so I could live with Gran. Thank you very much." I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"My pleasure Sookie. I think there is something in my briefcase for you. Let me see." I made a show of rifling through things inside. "Ah yes, a book about a princess."

"A princess?" Sookie asked, with very little enthusiasm. "Does a prince save her?" Adele gave her a sharp look. "Oh, I'm sure it will be good if you picked it out."

"Actually, in this book, the princess saves herself _and_ the prince from a dragon."

"Really?" There was the enthusiasm I was looking for.

"Yes, something a little unexpected. I will read it to you before I go. First, we have some work to do."

"Work?" Sookie asked.

"We are going to see if you can learn to block out people's thoughts. I was hoping your Gran would lend us a hand."

"Do you think I can really learn to do that? Maybe then people won't act like I'm crazy or be afraid of me anymore." No ambition to amaze the world with her telepathic powers, just the desire to blend in. Just the need to be accepted instead of being ridiculed or feared.

"Let's sit at the kitchen table, Sookie. Adele, you can just do what you normally do after supper. I will ask Sookie to tell me what you are thinking from time to time."

"I will just get started on these dishes then," Adele said with a smile, turning on the water at the sink.

"Sookie, I want you to hold my hand. Can you hear your Gran's thoughts now?"

"I can sort of hear a little hum. She is thinking something about prayers."

"Ok, concentrate on me and try to block out her thoughts completely."

She closed her eyes very tightly, then opened them very suddenly.

"Oh! I got so excited I forgot to con-cen-trate. Let me try again." More eye scrunching. Then I felt her slowly relax and a smile spread across her lips. She sat still for about ten minutes. I could have sat and watched her for hours.

"And?" she asked at last.

"How did that feel? What did you do?"

"I really like being alone in my head. It was kind of like pulling up a wall and holding it in place. The longer I hold it, the easier it is."

"Are you still holding it up? And talking?" Could she really be this amazing?

"Yes. Yes! Oh crap! I lost it again."

"Sookie," Gran said in a warning tone, though her eyes looked bit misty.

"Sorry, I meant to say OH NO!," Sookie corrected with an extra emphasis on the "oh no".

"That's better, young lady."

"Sookie, are you holding the wall up again?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Ok, try to lower is slowly and tell me what your Gran is thinking."

She frowned a bit, then looked across the room at Adele washing plates.

"Gran is thinking she wishes they hadn't stopped making her china pattern so she could replace the ones that broke. She got those dishes when she married Grandpa."

"Adele?" I asked.

"That is exactly what I was thinking." Clever lady. I am pretty sure that isn't what she was thinking shortly before that.

"Let's try again, shall we?"

Sookie almost fell asleep at the table. She kept wanting to try "just one more time." I read her the princess story and Adele asked me to wait for her on the porch while she tucked Sookie into bed. She joined me on the swing a few minutes later.

"Eric, I will sleep better tonight than I have in years. I can't thank you enough for taking an interest in my Sookie."

I basked in her appreciation for a few minutes. "We have a long way to go, but tonight does give me hope. " I rose to go. "Good night Adele. Thank you for being our guinea pig tonight." She smiled and blushed just a little. Once when I asked Sookie what her Gran was thinking, she was thinking about running her fingers through my hair. I had a good laugh and Adele turned a very lovely shade of red. The needlework she was doing suddenly became very interesting too. I was already looking forward to seeing them again. When was the last time I had looked forward to something?


	7. Chapter 7

After the first night, I flew to Bon Temps. Flying was faster and more discrete and I no longer needed to keep up appearances for Adele's sake. Sookie did well in her lessons with Mrs. Dawson. After a few evenings of blocking and reading Adele's thoughts while holding my hand , Sookie and I took a little "field trip" to her parent's house. We sat outside in a tree(actually Sookie sat on my lap) as Sookie listened in on them. Jason mostly thought about himself, Michelle mostly thought about Sookie's dad, and Corbett mostly thought about whatever was on T.V. Sookie was so much better off living with her Gran. By the end of the first evening, Sookie was able to block out all of their thoughts at once. After two weeks, she could listen to one without listening in on the others. Amazing!

One evening we were sitting around the kitchen table talking about the upcoming Thanksgiving feast Adele was preparing for the family.

"Don't invite Uncle Bartlett," Sookie said quietly.

"Why not Sookie?"Adele asked, looking her straight in the eye. What did she suspect?

"He hurts Hadley and he thinks about hurting me." My fangs ran out.

"I'm going outside for some air," I said half way to the door. I figured their conversation might go better without my presence. And I felt like ripping things apart.

After making some arrangements, I flew back a couple of hours later. Adele was in the porch swing wrapped in a shawl. Her eyes were red from crying.

"What do I do now Eric?" she asked.

"I would arrange for Bartlett to walk in front of a train." She stared at me. Not the suggestion she was looking for, I guess.

"I suspected once that he had tried to go after my daughter Linda. I made sure he was never alone with her again. I didn't really want to believe it. My own brother! If I had spoken up then…."

"Adele, you can't do anything about that now." I put my arm around her and pulled her close. Then I pulled out my handkerchief – just in case.

After a few minutes she took a deep breath and straightened. "Hadley has started having some problems in school. I will offer to pay for counseling for her and when I make the appointment, I will let the counselor know what I suspect. I don't want Sookie to have to go through a lot of questioning." I hadn't ever thought of Adele Stackhouse as looking old before. I kissed her on the cheek and headed back to Shreveport.

Surprisingly (well, not really), Bartlett Hale did walk out in front of a train two nights later. Trains are very efficient killers and no one suspects foul play. Trains don't go chasing people, they have to walk (be pushed, dropped, be glamoured into walking) on the track themselves. And the carnage is such that all marks of torture are completely erased. I love trains.


	8. Chapter 8

Adele and I didn't talk about Bartlett after that. He did leave his estate to her. It wasn't much; she set most of it aside for Hadley's therapy.

My work with Sookie was coming along well. By the six month deadline I had given myself, she was able to block out the thoughts of a large number of people. We spent quite a few evenings at Bon Temps High – band concerts, plays, basketball games… Where else could we go for an "evening out" in such a small town? I wasn't taking a six year old to a bar.

I arrived at the farm house one night to find Sookie at the kitchen table drawing a picture.

"What are you drawing Sookie?"

"Don't look! Wait until I'm finished." She tried to cover the paper with her arm. I zipped around the other side of her and caught a glimpse of yellow. "Eric!" Then she busted out laughing.

"What is so funny?"

"Gran is thinking she is not sure which one of us is the kid." More laughing, at my expense. I gave Adele a sour look. She just shrugged and went back to mixing up a batch of cookies.

"Who are you two spying on tonight?" Adele asked.

"The high school jazz band has a concert tonight," I answered.

"If Caroline Bellefluer is in attendance and happens to think about the ingredients to her chocolate cake….

"We'll be sure to write down the recipe," Sookie and I finished in unison. How many times had Adele told us that? Surely the cake wasn't THAT good.

"Just be gone, the both of you," Adele said smiling and shooing us out.

"Ready Sookie?"

"Yes. This is for you, Eric." She handed me the picture she had been working on. It was a little blonde girl holding hands with a large blonde man.

"I know this handsome guy is me, but who is the little squirt?" Sookie laughed. I would add this to my collection. I had quite a few hanging on the walls of my day time chamber.

The band was tuning up in the auditorium when we arrived (snuck in). We found a cozy spot back stage. Sookie held my hand, closed her eyes, and very soon a smile spread over her face. As the audience began to arrive, her smile faded.

"It's ok, Sookie. You know once the concert starts, everyone's thoughts will be more focused and it will be easier for you."

The concert began and I could tell she was able to control her shields. "Sookie, can you focus on the band and tell me what they are thinking?"

"A, C, Bflat"

"What about the woman in the audience wearing the red dress?"

"She wishes her daughter would practice more so she could be first chair. What does first chair mean?"

"I have no idea."

"Is Caroline Bellefluer here?" Sookie giggled.

"No."

"How about the elderly man with the cane?"

"He is thinking about dancing with a beautiful young woman."

"Would you like to dance, Sookie?" I flew us to the roof and we took a few turns accompanied by the Bon Temps Jazz Band. Had I had any fun before I met Sookie and Adele? I hadn't realized how very lonely I had been.

"Do you know where Caroline Bellefluer lives? Maybe she will be thinking about her cake recipe." Sookie giggled.

"Are you serious? She lives at Belle Rive, a big mansion."

We sat in Mrs. Bellefluer's tree for half an hour before Sookie was overcome with giggles and we had to leave. "Maybe we shouldn't tell your gran about this particular spying mission."

Sookie nodded solemnly. "She might ground us."

**Note: I felt like writing something light after dealing with Uncle Bartlett. Thanks again for all of the reviews!**


	9. Chapter 9

Sookie's 7th birthday came and went. She was making steady progress. We continued our little "spying missions" around Bon Temps. We still hadn't learned the secret to Caroline Bellefluer's cake, but Adele held out hope. Sookie began to try using her shields when I wasn't around. Adele started planning play dates with some of the local girls Sookie's age. At first parents were a little apprehensive, but Adele was well respected and a wonderful hostess. Sookie had her feelings hurt by the thoughts of some of the mothers at first, but got along with the girls well.

Adele and I sat in the porch swing one evening after a successful play date. "She has come a long way, hasn't she?"

"She has. I am very proud of your granddaughter. If she keeps learning at this rate, she may be ready for school in another year."

"Do you really think so?"

"I do," I answered with a smile.

"Before we know it she will be all grown up. Just today she was prancing around the living room in her dress up clothes, pretending she was getting married."

"I am sure she will grow up to be a beautiful young woman, inside and out."

"Just like her Gran?" Adele asked with a grin. She paused and looked me right in the eye. "Promise me something, Eric?"

I raised my eyebrows. No promises unless I knew what I was getting into, even with Adele.

"If you decide to pursue Sookie romantically, promise me you will wait until she is grown. I know she is just a little girl now, but some day she will be 16, 18… Give her a chance to meet a boy, gain some experience, before you lay on the Northman charm."

I smirked, then became serious. "You have my word, Adele, that I won't pursue a romantic relationship with Sookie until she finishes college. I would like for her to choose me, not be mine by default because I am already in her life." Adele smiled.

"Thank you, Eric."

"Although, you may never need to worry. Sookie is a smart girl; she may be wise enough to choose someone else. I can't eat breakfast with her or spend a day at the lake or give her children. " Having a human companion often meant the human had to make a lot of sacrifices. "I will give her enough time to make a decision with her eyes wide open." We sat in thoughtful silence for a few moments.

"Do you really find me charming?" I asked Adele slyly. She blushed a little. I pulled my hair out of my pony tail and shook it out. "Would you like to run your fingers through my hair?"

Adele laughed like a loon. "Will you never forget that? You are just too much sometimes, Eric."

Two nights later, Adele called– she certainly wasn't laughing. Sookie's parents had been caught in a flash flood, the car was washed off the road, and Corbett and Michelle drowned. I wrapped up the meeting I was in as quickly as I could and flew to Bon Temps.

Adele met me at the screen door, her eyes red from crying. I embraced her and she sobbed on my shoulder. She pulled herself together after a few minutes. "Sookie is in her room." I squeezed her hand as I headed toward the hall.

Sookie was curled up on her bed, a box of tissues next to her and used tissues scattered around her. This was a slight improvement from wiping her nose on her sleeve. I sat down beside her and stroked her hair. "Gran told you?" she asked.

"Yes, little one. I'm very sorry."

"I wish I could have done something to save them."

"Are you a weather predictor as well as a telepath? A psychic perhaps?" I asked.

"No, just a telepath."

"Then, you couldn't have done anything. At least you weren't with them. Where is Jason?"

She raised her head and "listened" for him. "He is outside throwing walnuts at the shed. My parents dropped him off here for the night so they could go out. I guess he will be moving in with Gran too."

"Will you like having him around?"

"Mostly he is a pain in the but, (just gotta love that honesty) although I have missed having him around. I won't mind it." She crawled onto my lap and cried herself to sleep. Crying really makes me uncomfortable, but for Adele and Sookie... I don't think I had ever been the go to shoulder for human women before. My undead life would never be the same.

I found Adele on the porch swing. I sat next to her, then pulled her onto my lap. She sniffled. "Cry all you need to, Adele. When I became a vampire I had to leave my family behind. I wept for the loss of my children." She nodded into my shirt and began to cry in earnest.

I joined Sookie at the funeral home two evenings later. She was having a hard time with her shields, even with my presence. I took her home early. If anyone had a problem with that, well they could deal with me. I stopped by the farm house the evening after the funeral; she was a wreck. I held her and stroked her hair until she fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Adele, Sookie, and Jason became accustomed to their new living situation. I continued my work with Sookie. Jason had a hard time accepting that Sookie could actually read minds. He was relieved though, that she wasn't crazy; he had always been a little afraid that he might go crazy too. Self absorbed much? We decided to tell him that I was allergic to sunlight and that I could fly - he accepted this pretty well. For some reason, after accepting mind reading, flying didn't seem like a big leap.

One night as I was leaving, I caught the scent of a fairy. Yum! I spotted him watching me from across the road, his eyes angry.

"Why do you visit the home of my lover so frequently?" I looked at him stupidly.

"Adele?" I asked. Her fairy lover had never come up in conversation. I wonder how one would lead up to that? I took the ferry across the river today, and by the way… The scent of the fairy was making me a little tipsy. Focus, Eric.

The fairy nodded. "My interest lies with the young girl," I said.

"You are feeding from my granddaughter! And Adele allows this?" I almost expected to see steam coming from his ears. Focus, Eric. Granddaughter?

"I do not feed from Sookie. I am training her," I answered, steel in my voice.

"Ah yes, the telepathy. Perhaps it is good that you are around, to keep them safe."

"Do they need protection from someone in particular?"

"I am Fintan Brigant, son of Niall Brigant, prince of the sky fairies." I had several business dealings with Niall. He always requested to meet me at The Deux Poissons. Maybe he owned it. Although why would a sky fairy name his restaurant after fish? My eyes widened.

"Corbett and Michelle weren't really caught in a flash flood, were they?"

"My enemies, the water fairies, murdered them," Fintan replied with fire in his eyes.

This was very bad. The fae were dangerous and cruel – not a Tinker Bell among them. "Do you plan to take them away?" I asked.

"No, Adele will not leave. I have done my best to keep them hidden. They are as safe in the farm house as they would be anywhere else." Humph. I needed to have a serious discussion with Adele about this.

"If she is your lover, the mother of your child, why do you not care for her better?"

"I wanted her and she wanted children. She is too proud to accept anything else. " He paused. " Do you have a name, vampire?"

"Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area 5."

"My father has spoken of you . He says you are a good man, for a vampire. I endanger them by being near. I will trust their safety to your hands," Fintan said and disappeared. Really? Fairies are just incomprehensible. I thought about going back to the house and speaking with Adele. No, I needed to think things through more carefully.


	11. Chapter 11

Adele and I sat on the porch watching Sookie and Jason chase fireflies. I smiled, recalling watching my young children do the same thing. I decided to speak what was on my mind.

"Adele, I saw a fairy outside your house last night." All of the color drained from her face. "We had a brief chat."

"How brief? You didn't kill him, did you?" The fairy's well being was her biggest concern?

"Vampires do find fairies intoxicating, but I restrained myself. I was very interested in what he had to say."

Adele looked at me. "It was Fintan, I suppose?"

"That is the name he gave me."

"In all of these years, I have never talked to a living soul about him (and she still hasn't, technically). I am ashamed to say I had an affair. And yet, if I had it to do over again, I would make the very same choices. Fintan was so beautiful and I wanted children so badly…" Adele trailed off with a wistful look in her eyes. "Corbett and Linda were such wonderful children and now I have Hadley, Jason, and Sookie. No, I wouldn't change anything. Do you think I did wrong?"

I chuckled. "I am very much a means to an end sort of guy myself. My biggest concern is for your safety. I have arranged to take some time off. We can leave for Europe as early as tomorrow evening. I will help the three of you plus Linda's family get settled. If you move every year or two…"

"No, Eric. I won't live my life on the run. Fintan promised to keep us hidden. Fairies can go wherever they like. Why would we be safer in Europe than we are here? I am too old to be moving from place to place like a gypsy and it is no way to raise children."

"If you won't go, will you at least let me take Sookie? "

"Will you take care of her personally? Won't raising her as your daughter put her in as much danger as being Fintan's granddaughter?"

"Possibly."

"I would rather raise her here, surrounded by people I know and trust. I'll spot an outsider right away. Moving around constantly, I would never know who to be wary of. I don't want to leave Bon Temps. This is my home. Stackhouses have been living under this roof for generations. I want Sookie and Jason to grow up here, to know their roots." I wanted to remind her that Sookie and Jason weren't really Stackhouses because of the whole fairy grandfather thing, but I held my tongue. She was determined to stay.

On to Plan B. Mrs. Dawson would continue to be on hand weekday mornings to teach Sookie - I would give her a heads up about the fairies. Adele's house could use some repairs and updating. Maybe I could convince her all of it was for safety. I would give Jackson Herveaux a call, most of his construction workers are Weres. And they do good work. And he owes me a favor. Who could I find to watch them on evenings when I wasn't around without arousing suspicion? Maybe there was a local Were that could pose as a suitor for Adele. He could set out to charm her, or I could just tell her he was pretending to be her romantic interest. Telling her the truth would probably be wisest. Generally women don't appreciate men who feign interest, even if it is for their own good. (Generally I don't like Weres, but they make good bodyguards. If I sent vampire guards at night that would be like putting a big blinking light up that said: Eric's Favorite Humans Please Maim and Kill. Also, I don't really care if the Weres are injured by fairies. I don't want to lose any of my own people if I can help it.)

"Eric," Sookie called, running over. "Can you fly us up in the air so we can watch the lightning bugs from above?"

"Please, Eric?" Jason asked. How could I say no to that?

**Note: Again, a big thank you for all of your reviews. This is my last chapter – summer vacation is almost over and I need to get my classroom ready. Maybe someday I will get around to writing about Sookie as an adult.  
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